My quest to find all the winter birds in the Cincinnati area took me to Miami Whitewater Forest yesterday in search of the Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus). We found them, but only as we were just about to give up. Someone on Cincinnati Birds reported them at the High Plains area of the park, so that is where we began our search. After awhile of aimlessly hiking around, we were heading out of the area when we heard the Pine Siskin call. Reminiscent of the Goldfinch, we knew we were on their trail. Three or four of them were situated in a Sweetgum tree, skillfully pulling up the gumballs with their feet to get at the seeds. After 15 minutes a dozen more flew into the tree to join them. They were amazingly calm and allowed me to get fairly close to get some pics. Needless to say, they are beautiful birds:
Not to be outdone, however, a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) decided he wanted his time in the limelight. He perched himself not five feet from us and stayed just long enough for me to grab some pics. Here’s one of them:
Along the way we also saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Brown Creeper, Sandhill Crane, Northern Harrier, and a Bald Eagle, and other usual suspects. Not a bad day for birding!
So I decided it was high time to update my life list today. Life list, you ask? Yes, life list. A list of all the bird species I have seen in my life. I’m up to 161 species so far, and I have a long way to go. Not sure where the “to go” part actually goes, but you get the idea.
Northern Parula
Through inspiration from my friend Matt and his quest for the Biggest Year, I have decided to do a Biggest Winter. In birding, a Biggest Year is when a birder tries to find as many species as they can in the course of one year. Matt is out to find all known (716) species found in North America. It’s a big goal, but it’s an honorable one, and one of which I am jealous. He will travel the US, parts of Canada, and hopefully Alaska to find them all. In my Biggest Winter, I’m out to find all the birds that overwinter around Cincinnati. It’s only around 34 species (not including the year round species), but some of them may be a challenge. It’s a much smaller goal than Matt’s goal, but it’s something to tide me over until next year’s migration. I’m looking forward to it.
This is my friend Dan. I’m proud to call Dan my friend because, well, he is quite a unique character. Over the weekend, I helped him shoot his Survivor Casting Call video. You can find it HERE.
For part of the video, Dan pulled his car with his hair. No joke. Check it out…
My friend Shawn, who I visited in Bangladesh, is trying to get to Davos. We can help him get there by voting for him on Youtube. HERE is a link to his page with instructions on how to vote. Its quick. Its easy.
This would mean an opportunity for Shawn to meet with world leaders to discuss the issue of world poverty, and it would be a huge benefit for him to continue his work in Bangladesh; work the good of which I have seen and experienced first hand.
I went out with my friend Ryan for an early morning hike (as in before the sunrise) and to grab some pics. It was cold. I got a new camera for Christmas, the Nikon D5000. Its a sweet camera! Anyone looking for a new DSLR and doesn’t have a huge budget, this is the way to go!
An early morning hike is a great way to get your day going. Its painful to get out of bed at 530am, but its completely worth it. Try it!
Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of a bird? They’re kind of flighty…
Thanksgiving is upon us. In a mere 14 hours I will be sitting on the couch, belt undone, sleeping off another amazing Thanksgiving meal. It will be my fourth of the year, but definitely the best and most special.
Last year I spent Thanksgiving in Nepal. Now don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed Thanksgiving last year. I spent it with some great friends, but I’m very happy to be home and sharing it with my family this year.
Dad will be deep-frying the turkey this year. In my opinion, there is really no better way to eat it. Juicy and full of flavor. Some mashed potatoes and stuffing, and I’m set. No cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes for me. And I’ll take a piece of pumpkin pie to top it off. I prefer pecan, but I’ll take what I can get…
This clip below is a bit before my time, but I’ve seen the episode and it is hilarious! Thought I’d post it in honor of Thanksgiving. You can find the entire episode HERE on Hulu. WKRP gets the idea for a “Turkey Drop.” Dropping turkeys from a helicopter over Cincinnati. Genius… “Oh, the humanity!” Here’s a little teaser…
Do you remember what you did on this day last year, November 11th, 2008? I do. I left for Nepal. I said goodbye to my family and friends, headed to the Cincinnati airport and left for what would be a most interesting year.
Its hard to believe that it has been a full year already. Part of me wishes I was leaving again, but other details of life are more pressing right now. And most of me is glad to be home right now. I love the Fall, friends, and family. And Skyline.
What I don’t enjoy, however, is how busy I am! Why is the US so fast-paced? Nobody enjoys it, so why do we do it? I thought Nepal was hard to understand, but really its the US that makes no sense. Try and slow down and you get ran over.
Hopefully things will slow down soon, though, right? Yeah, right…
